Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is significantly expanding its plans to contract out immigrant tracking services to private surveillance companies, abandoning its previous $180 million limit on such initiatives. The agency’s new framework allows for uncapped spending and guarantees that individual contractors might earn up to $281.25 million, thereby signaling a major shift in ICE’s approach and reinforcing an extensive outsourcing strategy in its enforcement operations.
Reports indicate that ICE aims to hire "bounty hunters" and private investigators to conduct street-level verification. These contractors will be tasked with confirming the addresses of individuals targeted for removal by methods such as photographing homes, noting the comings and goings of individuals, and observing workplaces or apartments.
The previous phase framed this effort as a pilot program with a $180 million budget cap, where contractors could earn a maximum of $90 million each and as little as $250 for confirmed cases. The newly revealed plans not only lift that cap but also bump the minimum contract value to $7.5 million for initial orders, indicating ICE’s intent for this initiative to become a core operational strategy rather than a limited trial.
Details of the program are extensive, involving contractors accessing monthly batches of 50,000 cases from a pool of 1.5 million individuals. They would confirm locations using both public data and in-person visits if necessary, with pricing structures rewarding contractors based on performance, speed, and accuracy.
Moreover, concerns have been raised about data privacy, as initial plans hinted at contractor access to ICE’s internal case-management systems, which house sensitive personal information. However, the current agenda stipulates that while contractors can’t access federal systems directly, they will receive comprehensive data packets containing personal information on targets—a move that raises issues about the oversight of this private outsourcing of sensitive information.
This initiative mirrors other efforts by ICE to enhance contractor involvement in various enforcement activities, including plans for a contractor-operated transportation network in Texas and the creation of social media surveillance posts designed to feed directly into enforcement operations. The escalation of these private surveillance commitments reflects the agency’s need for reliable partnerships to manage logistical and operational demands while ensuring substantial financial guarantees for contractors.
ICE’s evolving approach raises critical discussions about the implications of privatizing enforcement activities in immigration policy and the potential consequences for individuals on the receiving end of such surveillance.
